June 2013: Summary Judgment Victory for Google, Motorola Mobility, HTC, and Samsung

Quinn Emanuel won summary judgment of non-infringement for several clients, Google, Motorola Mobility, HTC, and Samsung, in a patent case in the Eastern District of Texas. The litigation concerned the defendants’ Android devices. In October 2010, the plaintiff, Gemalto S.A., a French digital security company with billions of dollars in revenue, filed suit. In the 1990’s, Gemalto’s predecessor-in-interest developed the “Java Card” which allows Java-based applications to run on smart cards and microcontrollers, and was granted three patents in connection with that development. The patents were directed to the compiling and converting of computer “byte codes” to allow high-level languages like Java to run on microcontrollers and smart cards. Gemalto claimed that each of defendants’ Android devices (there were over 100 accused) infringed its patents and sought damages and an injunction.

The first step to achieving victory was to get a favorable claim construction order, which Quinn Emanuel obtained in the summer of 2012. Plaintiff alleged that the microprocessors in the accused devices met the “microcontroller” and other related claim limitations. The Court, however, construed “microcontroller” such that it was clear defendants' microprocessor-based Android devices did not infringe the patents-in-suit. Gemalto nevertheless continued to litigate the case. In November 2012, defendants moved for summary judgment of non-infringement of each of the patent claims asserted against them.

On February 25, 2013, Magistrate Judge John D. Love issued a Report and Recommendation granting summary judgment of non-infringement, adopting Quinn Emanuel’s arguments on behalf of defendants. Judge Love found that Gemalto’s theory of infringement “impermissibly recasts the Court’s construction” and “manufactures an infringement theory by circumventing the Court’s unambiguous claim construction order.” On April 15, 2013, Chief Judge Leonard Davis adopted Judge Love’s Report and Recommendation and granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment of non-infringement of all asserted claims. The following day, the Court entered final judgment, dismissing all claims against defendants.